Bringing the campaign for a real hunting ban to Scotland’s high streets

Jennifer Dunn - Public Affairs (Scotland)

Over the last two years, we’ve been campaigning hard for a real ban on foxhunting in Scotland, as we know that hunting with dogs continues here.

The Scottish Government have commissioned the Bonomy Review and promised to tighten the law, but we’re far from convinced that the proposed changes are going to amount to a full ban on hunting.

Our petition calling for a real ban had gathered 18,000 signatures but we wanted to get more. So on Saturday 30th, our volunteers, coordinated by Stewart McLean, went out in eight locations to spread the word.

We were out in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Falkirk, Irvine, Lochwinnoch, Dumfries, and Kirkcaldy. We started with a small but committed group, and were joined by other volunteers as the word spread.

League Scotland got a great reception with many people keen to support our call for a real hunting ban. Fergus the Fox joined us for a while in Buchanan Street in Glasgow and got a particularly good response.

Alison Johnstone, MSP for the Lothians, and Colin Smyth, who covers the South of Scotland, also came out to support the campaign.

We had a great day, our petition has now over 19,000 signatures, and many, many more people across Scotland know about and support our campaign for a real ban on hunting.

To our volunteers and supporters – thanks so much for all that you do. We rely on you to campaign for an end to animal cruelty in the name of ‘sport’, and you can make a real difference to the Scottish hunting laws.

To the Scottish Government – the vast majority of the Scottish public supports a full ban on hunting, and the First Minister is on record as opposing foxhunting. It’s time to put expectations into legislation, and introduce a real ban on foxhunting.

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Positive measures to protect animals have been announced by the government today. The Animal Welfare Bill 2018 includes an increase in sentencing for animal abuse from a maximum of six months jail to five years, and also states that animal sentience must be recognised in any future laws.

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Positive measures to protect animals have been announced by the government today. The Animal Welfare Bill 2018 includes an increase in sentencing for animal abuse from a maximum of six months jail to five years, and also states that animal sentience must be recognised in any future laws.

This blog post corrects many errors published in a December 2017 Metro’s article about fox hunting, in which it confuses trail hunting, drag hunting and clean boot hunting. The post sets the record straight regarding recent incidents of hunt violence and intimidation, and rebukes some of the mistruths perpetuated by the pro-hunt lobby.

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As a team, we share the same passion – to stop animal cruelty in the name of sport. We are a tight knit team and we work hard within a fun, relaxed environment. We also offer something many employers don’t – an office full of friendly dogs!

Hunting was banned in England and Wales in 2004, but the law has never been properly enforced, and attempts to weaken or repeal it continue. The hunting law in Scotland is weak, and hunting is still legal in Northern Ireland.

Hurting and killing animals for ‘sport’ is one of the principal causes of animal cruelty in the UK: tens of millions suffer and die each year for ‘leisure’ activities. We’re here to protect those animals.

Bullfighting is perhaps the most well known spectator “sport” involving the killing of animals for entertainment. It has already been banned in most countries, but each year tens of thousands of bulls are maimed, tortured and killed for entertainment in Spain, Portugal, France, Colombia, Mexico, USA, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru.

The hidden side of greyhound racing includes dogs kept for long periods in lonely kennels, painful injuries from racing and training, illness and neglect. Shockingly, thousands of surplus dogs die or disappear every year. The League believes dogs should not suffer or die for entertainment or for the profit of the dog racing industry.

The Hunting Act 2004 is the law which bans chasing wild mammals with dogs in England and Wales – this basically means that fox hunting, deer hunting, hare hunting, hare coursing and mink hunting are all illegal, as they all are cruel sports based on dogs chasing wild mammals.